Porìn
'Overview' Porìn are, by far, the smallest race of furr on the Drey, and one of the most unique, with a system of beliefs completely devoid of Draiah, a body almost perfectly resembling their wild ancestors, and a complicated way of communicating that goes beyond spoken-word and lashing-tail. The Porìn's entire way of life, way of survival, and view on the world are adapted for their most unique feature of all: in size, they are no bigger than the palm of a Human's hand. The view from 3 inches off the ground - or one Por, as they'd measure it - is vastly different. In a domestic setting, they live beneath floorboards where available or in tunnels beneath the packed dirt floor, bits of familiarity decorating their tunnels. A handkerchief serves as tapestry on the walls, or perhaps a tablecloth on a large family's table. An overturned clay pot could be an entire livingroom, keeping the area cool and temperate all times of year. A jar lid and some pins fashion a kitchen table to seat four. A small box could be an entire bed. While the footsteps above them are large enough to be giants, the Porìn are small enough to go unnoticed, scurrying by busy footpaws or human feet. Porìn must be careful, however. Domestic Porìn are endangered for good reason. On the human market, little is more valuable than an Erased, obedient Porìn. Their ability to change from 3 inches tall to over a foot in height makes them invaluable for crawling into the smaller spaces to clean or do small, intricate detailwork for craftsmen who otherwise can't work that small. In large groups, a room is cleaned down to the finest detail in no time. This fact has, unfortunately, put domestic Porìn in a severely endangered status, as their lifespan is vastly shortened in captivity, living no more than a year or two with the stress on their already-rapidly-beating hearts. Woodland Porin live in a world of giants, carving their way into giant trees, living in massive groups. A single Appen can feed an entire Porìn family. Although small and fragile, Porìn don't see themselves as such, and tend to live in more high-risk areas such as on the outskirts of farmland and villages. They often believe that the bounty of giants - particularly Man - is a gift from the gods to be shared among the Porìn race. Given this fact, many two-leg races, particularly those that are farmers, see Porìn as a pest, and not another being of equal intelligence. 'Physique & Appearance' As aforementioned, Porìn are extremely small, but can shift into sizes up to a foot-and-a-half, keeping their proportions and markings. They are naturally colored, but vivid, often coming in red like the reddest hair, golden blonde, and rich, chocolate brown. Most common are those that are patched and spotted. On very rare occasions they hold stripes, a sacred symbol in Porìn culture. Called "the Marked", they are usually seen as and encouraged to be heroes, tribe leaders, and soothsayers. Whether they all actually are is arguable. Unlike most species of furr, Porìn do not practice dying or shifting their fur colors, mainly for cultural reasons, except for coat-smearing when forraging in the wild. Something particular to note about the Porìn are their jointed tails and boned-and-jointed ears. not only are these used for communication, but they are still used for the purposes their wild ancestors used them for today. The bones in the ears allow for precise direction of hearing, the earholes being hidden just slightly up the stalks, able to make 3/4 turns in either direction, flatten almost parallel to the back of the skull, and stand upright as they do naturally. The tail is particularly muscular, the unusual joint towards the end acting like an extended finger, usable for grasping objects and suspending from twigs. 'Coloration' Remember that these are just examples, and will vary within their natural standards. 'Attire' The interesting thing about being so small is that one can't really go to market or trade for an outfit. Therefore, much of Porìn attire consists of found-objects, either re-invented into clothing, or carefully re-woven into simple tunics, belts, dresses, and so on. Like many furrs, Porìn find that pants are binding and restrict their movement, and therefore do not wear them. When imagining a Porìn's outfit, look at household items, and picture their equivalents before the era of technology. Bits of hand-dyed fabric would be the most popular, as even the Woodland Porìn would venture into human and furr territory for such things. For those who are not up to as much risk-taking, temporary garments of sturdy leaves and vines would be woven in the early mornings. 'Communication' Though Porìn can, and do, speak the common tongue, their very survival depends on the use of a secondary language. When raiding dwellings and / or forraging in groups, they use a language that depends on the movement of their unique ears and tails, all of which are jointed and flexible. Through combining the three they can create hundreds of unique signs and symbols for use in silent communication, and often in combination with the common tongue for particularly complex storytelling. 'Temperament' The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a small creature is something nervous and timid. This, however, is the thinking of someone living in the "giant's" world. Pride and bravery run strong amongst many of the Porìn - particularly of the Woodland variety - though balanced with a measure of care and caution around giants. 'Society & Dwellings' As mentioned before, Domestic Porìn live amongst the dwellings of two-legs - particularly Fel, Caniir, Rabben, and Humans - tunneling beneath the dirt floors or living beneath floorboards, in the walls, or anywhere else that hasn't been, and won't be, touched by the "giants." They have a strict code of secrecy - it is very rare that they make any communication with the "giant" two-legs from above, moving above only when they are out or asleep. 'Culture & Religion' Porìn believe in the immense power of the condensed soul, the tattered souls that "giants" contain, and the gods that created them. From Yukkititiaria and Elsikorokoko we came, the goddess and god of the small ones. Yunia is the great mother of the world beneath the leaves - gentle, caring, gracious, but with the wrath of a thousand suns when tested - while Elsion is her husband and protector, who watches over the small ones and gives us strength. It is they who discovered the great power within the pebbles, once mere mortals upon the Drey, revealing the truth of these stones to the first of our kind. We were endangered, cowardly, and easily crushed by the giants of the world until these gifts were bestowed upon us. They gave us intelligence, magic, and showed that from the smallest places come the greatest bursts of power, and that only the truly small can weild it in such mass. We were taught that the giants need not be feared, for the space within their husks was too great and too empty to hold the strength of heart and power that the small ones could. Finally, bestowed upon us was the name "Porin," a name in the forgotten tongue of the ancients meaning great-and-small. Never will we forget the grace of our gods, nor the lessons they have taught us. Forever, we shall be great and small. 'Naming' Porìn tend to have very "clicky" names, strong t and k sounds of common use. Wild Porìn almost always have lengthy names of short syllables - though perhaps not as long as Ice names - spoken quickly. An example would be "Rattatikkata" - said quickly, though consisting of short, 2-3 letter syllables. Otherwise, they can be given what we on Earth would call "High-Fantasy" names on rare occasion. 'Growth & Aging' Porìn age at approximately the rate that most aershaa do, spending only 4-5 moons (months) as kits, the remainder of the year as halflings, 'then with 15-20 years of adulthood, becoming old just before, or just as they reach their 20s, depending on health and fitness. The oldest Porìn recorded was nearly 40, but the average is ~30-35. 'Magics Porìn are taught magic young, usually beginning to stabilize their skills of shifting by the age of 2 cycles (years), and more advanced magics by 3 or 4. They are size-shifters, in that they can change their height to 1 - 1 1/2 feet, and one of the last species that practices puppet-magic, in which they can combine small objects to service them, be it a flying paper bird, or a self-sweeping broom made of a frayed yarn and small twig. What they can animate is up to the imagination, but the duration is limited . Within their beliefs, this is because "an object without a soul can't be made to have a leg to stand on." So a reanimated object only lasts as long as there is focus from the caster. Because their type of shapeshifting is considered a minor magic, they can practice both size-shifting and puppet magic. Category:Gods Category:Religions Category:furrs Category:Playable species Category:Furr Species